Research Interests

The entirety of my professional effort, both laboratory and clinical, is focused on the mechanisms that prevent humans from universally succumbing to the microbial pathogens they inhale or aspirate every day. In particular, I am interested in how non-HIV immunocompromised patients respond to the presence of respiratory pathogens. My goal is to exploit these native mechanisms to provide more comprehensive protection during episodes of peak vulnerability, such as when cancer patients receive chemotherapy. My laboratory is currently engaged full-time in mechanistic studies intended to unravel the means by which our recently described phenomenon of inducible resistance protects against pneumonia. Our available data indicate that this protective response occurs via antimicrobial product generation from treated respiratory epithelial cells, rather than through the typical leukocyte effectors of the innate immune system. My long term objective is to develop a research program focused on discovery and manipulation of epithelium-derived antimicrobial mediators that can ultimately be translated for clinical benefit.